Liu Housheng (; January 1921 – 14 May 2019) was a Chinese theatre director, critic, scholar, and playwright. As Vice President of the

China Theatre Association The China Theatre Association is a subordinate of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC). Founded on July 24, 1949, the organisation was initially named the China National Theatre Workers Association. In 1953, it was renamed the ...

, he co-founded the

Plum Blossom Award The China Theatre Plum Blossom Award (), more commonly the Plum Blossom Award, is the highest theatrical award in China. It is awarded by the China Theatre Association. Several Taiwanese have also won the award, such as Wei Hai-min. History The ...

in 1983. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the China Theater Awards in 2009.

Biography

Liu was born in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in January 1921 and moved to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

in 1931. He graduated from the National Theatre Academy (国立戏剧专科学校) in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. Starting in the 1940s, Liu wrote many plays and published hundreds of articles on theatre research and criticism. In 1946, he was received by

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

, who would later become the Premier of China, together with

Yue opera Yue opera, also known as Shaoxing opera, is the Chinese opera genre. Only Peking opera is more popular nationwide. Originating in Shengzhou, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province in 1906, Yue opera features actresses in male roles as well as femininity ...

star Yuan Xuefen and actress Yu Ling. In 1948, Liu joined Yuan's Xuesheng Troupe (雪声剧团), where he directed the Yue operas ''The Great Wall'' and ''

Li Shishi Li Shishi (?-?) was a courtesan () from Bianjing (now Kaifeng), the capital of the Song Empire. At the time, jiaoji refers to women who engaged in performing arts for a living, and their scope of work included: singing, dancing, reciting poetry ...

'', among others. After the founding of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1949, Liu worked for the Cultural Bureau of the Shanghai Municipal Government. Working under

Zhou Xinfang Zhou Xinfang (14 January 1895 – 8 March 1975), also known by his stage name (meaning "Qilin Boy") was a Chinese actor and musician who was a Peking opera actor who specialized in its "old male" (, ''laosheng'') roles. He is considered one of ...

, he promoted the reform of traditional

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

s and helped establish the Shanghai Pingtan Troupe in 1951. He served as an advisor to the adaptation of ''

The Palace of Eternal Life ''The Palace of Eternal Life'' (), also translated as ''The Palace of Eternal Youth'', is a play written by Hong Sheng () in the Qing dynasty. He absorbed certain material from the long narrative poem '' The Song of Everlasting Sorrow'' writte ...

'' to

Kunqu Kunqu (), also known as Kunju (), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. Kunqu is one of the oldest traditional operas of the Han nationality, and is also a treasure of Chinese traditional cult ...

opera. He also advised in the composition of the

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

''Cao Cao and Yang Xiu'' and the

Huai opera Huai opera (), also known as Jianghuai opera (), is a regional form of Chinese opera that originated in the 19th century in Yancheng, Jianhu County, and Huai'an in northeastern Jiangsu Province. In 2008 it was listed as a national-level intangible ...

''The Golden Dragon and the Mayfly''. Liu founded the journal ''Shanghai Theatre'' and later served as chief editor of the journal ''People's Theatre'' (now called ''China Theatre''), as well as Vice President of the

. In 1983, he co-founded the

for outstanding theatre and opera performers and served as a judge for many years. It is considered the highest award for Chinese opera. In 2009, Liu received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the China Theater Awards.

Personal life

Liu was married to Fu Huizhen (傅惠珍). In 2010, the couple donated their collection of several thousand books to the China Theatre Association library, including a precious set of ''The Collected Works of Lu Xun'', which Liu collected in the 1940s directly from

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...

's widow

Xu Guangping Xu Guangping (, 1898 – 1968), her former name "Xu Chongqian" (), was a Chinese female writer, politician, and social activist. She was well known as the partner of Chinese writer Lu Xun. Biography Born in Guangzhou in a family of Great Qing o ...

. In 2011, the couple donated their lifetime savings of 500,000 yuan to the China Theatre Association. Liu died on 14 May 2019 at

Peking Union Medical College Hospital Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH), also known as Beijing Xiehe Hospital (), is a large of teaching hospital in Beijing, China. It was founded in 1921 by Rockefeller Foundation and is affiliated to both Peking Union Medical College (P ...

, at the age of 98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Housheng 1921 births 2019 deaths Writers from Beijing Chinese dramatists and playwrights Literary scholars Chinese theatre directors Chinese theatre critics